Roll support



June 23, 1964 F. s. CARAVELLA 3,138,340

ROLL SUPPORT Filed June 5, 1962 32 32 W! FIG 5 FIGG FIGIO INVENTOR FRANK S. CARAVELLA ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,138,340 ROLL SUPPORT Frank S. Caravella, 4321 N. 13th St., Milwaukee, Wis. Filed June 5, 1962, Ser. No. 200,264 3 Claims. (Cl. 24255.2)

My invention relates to roll supports, and more particularly to a support for rolls of toilet paper or the like.

The object of my invention is to provide a device that will permit the application and the removal of a roll of toilet paper or the like from its holder or support, without removing any part of the holder.

Another object is to provide a device of the character described that may be assembled with ease and without any tools or mechanical skill.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a roll support that may be utilized with an existing bracket of conventional design.

The conventional toilet paper holder, or support, is constructed in a manner whereby the roll support is equipped with a compression spring or other resilient means, that has to be compressed when being removed, and again inserted into the core of the roll of paper and compressed on both of its sides to insert it into the cavities of the support bracket.

The device illustrated and described herein is a complete unit consisting of an assembly of parts, that may be made a part of, or may be applied to a conventional wall bracket, and does not have to be removed therefrom when replacing the roll of toilet paper or the like.

The parts constituting my invention are simple in construction, economical to manufacture, and may be easily assembled without the use of special tools.

Other and further objects of my invention will become more apparent as the description proceeds, when taken in conjunction With the drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a top view of the assembled device, showing the roll of toilet paper in phantom, supported within the bracket and ready for use.

FIGURE 2 is a similar view as shown in FIG. 1, with the roll of toilet paper shown in phantom, being removed,

FIGURE 3 is a cross-sectional view of the attaching end of the roll support, as applied to the recess in a conventional wall bracket,

FIGURE 4 is a similar cross-sectional view of the same attaching member when applied to a stamping or the like, employed as a wall bracket, as illustrated in FIG. 9,

FIGURE 5 is a side view of the mounting screw,

FIGURE 6 is an end view of the mounting screw shown in FIG. 5,

FIGURE 7 is a side view of the split adaptor, consisting of two semi-cylindrical portions, held in engagement with one another by means of an O ring,

FIGURE 8 is an end view of the adaptor shown in FIG. 7,

FIGURE 9 is a fragmentary perspective view of a portion of a wall bracket constructed of sheet metal, or the like, and

FIGURE 10 is a fragmentary perspective view of a portion of a conventional bracket equipped with a recess.

Similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views, and referring now to the same, the character 20 indicates a bracket which may be constructed of any type of material, molded or stamped, consisting of a back plate 21, equipped with apertures 22 to accommodate screws 23, for attachment to a vertical wall. Obviously any type of fastening means may be employed.

The back plate 21 is equipped with a pair of outwardly extending arms shown as 24 and 24'. The arm 24' in FIGS. 1 and 2 and 3 is shown provided with a cavity 40 to receive an adaptor 51 shown in FIGS. 3, 4, 7 and 8, said adaptor consisting of a pair of semi-cylindrical members 25 and 25, held into adjustable engagement with one another by expansible means such as the ring 36. The members 25 and 25 have tapered threaded portions 26 and 26' respectively.

There is a stud member 27 threaded at one end 28, to threadedly engage a coil spring member 29, tapered at its ends 30 and 30'. The stud member 27 is also equipped with an outwardly extending flange 31 and there is a tapered threaded portion 32 at its other end.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the coil spring member 29 is employed to rotatably support the conventional ferrule 33 constructed of paper in the form of a tube acting as a mounting for the roll of toilet paper shown as 34. The one end of the coil spring member 29 shown as 30' threadedly engages the threaded end 28 of the stud member 27 to a point of contact at 35 with the outward extending flange 31, and the threaded tapered portion 32 is designed to engage the adaptor 51.

The object and purpose of splitting the adaptor 51 is to cause it to spread when the tapered threaded portion 32 of the stud member 27 enters the tapered threaded portion 26 and 26' of the adaptor thereby causing its pe ripheral portions to contact the inner wall of the cavity 49 in the arm 24' to retain it into position. This is accomplished by turning the entire coil spring member 29.

In FIGS. 4 and 9, I show a modified bracket arm 37 folded against itself and being provided with an aperture 38, and when the adaptor engages the aperture 38, the groove 39 (see FIGS. 4 and 7) permits its engagement with the arm 37 when the adaptor 51 is spread.

The purpose of the expansible ring 36 is to hold the two halves 25 and 25 together while being inserted into the cavity 40 or the aperture 38, and when spread by the tapered threaded portion 32 the expansible ring 36 will contact the inner surface of the cavity 40 or permit the arm 37 to engage the groove 39 of the adaptor 51.

The flexibility of the coil spring member 29 enables the free tapered end 30 to be brought outward as shown in FIG. 2, for inserting a new roll of paper 34.

From the above description it will become apparent that the coil spring member 29 equipped with the stud member 27 and the adaptors 51 semi-cylindrical members 25 and 25, may be inserted into any standard toilet paper bracket or the like, or it may be made a part of the complete assembly including the bracket 20, and while I have shown a specific arrangement of the parts and their construction, I am fully cognizant of the fact that many changes may be made in the shape, form, and configuration of the parts and their arrangement, without effecting their operativeness, and I reserve the rights to make such changes, without departing from the spirit of my invention, or the scope of the claims.

I claim:

1. A toilet paper holder, comprising: a pair of arms spaced apart to receive a roll of toilet paper therebetween, said pair of arms each having a cavity on one end; a resilient member; adaptor means for threadedly receiving one of the ends of said resilient member, said adaptor means having, a stud member with one end threadedly associated with said resilient member, a pair of semi-cylindrical members, and an expansible means for holding said semicylindrical members in adjustable relation with one another, said semi-cylindrical members being sized and shaped to be received by one of said cavities, said semicylindrical members having threads on the inner portions thereof, the other side of said stud being threaded for engagement with said semi-cylindrical members, whereby said resilient member is associated with said arms by having one of its ends threadedly engaging said adaptor and the other of its ends being received by said one of said cavities of said arms.

2. A toilet paper holder, comprising: a pair of arms spaced apart to receive a roll of toilet paper therebetween, said pair of arms each having a cavity on one end; a resilient member; adaptor means for threadedly receiving one of the ends of said resilient member, said adaptor means having a stud member with one end threaded for association with the inner portion of said resilient member, a pair of semi-cylindrical members, and an expansible ring for holding said semi-cylindrical members in adjustable engagement with one another, said semi-cylindrical members being sized and shaped to be received by one of said cavities, said semi-cylindrical members having threads on the inner portions thereof, the other side of said stud being threaded for engagement with said semi-cylindrical members, whereby said resilient member is associated with said arms by having one of its ends threadedly engaging said adaptor and forcing said semi- 4 cylindrical members-agtinst the sides of a cavity on one of the arms and the other of said resilient members ends being received by the cavity of said other arm.

3. A toilet paper holder, as defined in claim 2, wherein said other side of said stud has a tapered threaded portion and said threaded inner portions of said semi-cylindrical members are tapered for engagement with said other side of said stud, whereby threaded engagement of said stud with said semi-cylindrical members causes the periphery of said members to be forced against the sides of said one of said cavities.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,428,740 Akimoff Sept. 12, 1922 2,760,224 Hennelly Aug. 28, 1956 2,903,199 Gralewicz Sept. 8, 1959 

1. A TOILET PAPER HOLDER, COMPRISING: A PAIR OF ARMS SPACED APART TO RECEIVE A ROLL OF TOILET PAPER THEREBETWEEN, SAID PAIR OF ARMS EACH HAVING A CAVITY ON ONE END; A RESILIENT MEMBER; ADAPTOR MEANS FOR THREADEDLY RECEIVING ONE OF THE ENDS OF SAID RESILIENT MEMBER, SAID ADAPTOR MEANS HAVING, A STUD MEMBER WITH ONE END THREADEDLY ASSOCIATED WITH SAID RESILIENT MEMBER, A PAIR OF SEMI-CYLINDRICAL MEMBERS, AND AN EXPANSIBLE MEANS FOR HOLDING SAID SEMICYLINDRICAL MEMBERS IN ADJUSTABLE RELATION WITH ONE ANOTHER, SAID SEMI-CYLINDRICAL MEMBERS BEING SIZED AND SHAPED TO BE RECEIVED BY ONE OF SAID CAVITIES, SAID SEMICYLINDRICAL MEMBERS HAVING THREADS ON THE INNER PORTIONS THEREOF, THE OTHER SIDE OF SAID STUD BEING THREADED FOR ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID SEMI-CYLINDRICAL MEMBERS, WHEREBY SAID RESILIENT MEMBER IS ASSOCIATED WITH SAID ARMS BY HAVING ONE OF ITS ENDS THREADEDLY ENGAGING SAID ADAPTOR AND THE OTHER OF ITS ENDS BEING RECEIVED BY SAID ONE OF SAID CAVITIES OF SAID ARMS. 